Let’s make it clear from the beginning – a leaking toilet can be the largest cause for your high water bill. There is almost a hundred thousand gallons of water wasted by leaking toilets each year. So if you don’t already know that your toilet isn’t leaking you need to go and check it out right at this moment; if it is leaking return back and read this to find out how to fix this issue. In some parts of the world there is serious shortage on fresh water, and if we would be exporting this 100 000 gallons to them they would be more than happy!
If you are afraid of doing toilet repair yourself, then don’t worry; it is simple and I will guide you through it. First af all you need to be certain whether your toilet is the old ballcock flush toilet, since for this you don’t necessarily find spare parts so easily. Even so they are still available. Most likely you will be best out replacing them with new parts, to ensure that you will have replacements in the future also. So just get new plastic in there!
Usually the flushing mechanism is exactly what is broken in a toilet, and if you are dealing with a clog then you need to take a different approach, here I will tell you how to fix a leak. First of all you need to open the tank. If you have an “European style” toilet the lever to flush the toilet is located on the top, and you will need to screw it off before you open the cap, but with an American toilet you are most likely facing a water tank with the lever attached to the side. Inside the tank there are going to be two different valves – one that controls the intake water, and one that controls the flush.
Pulling the lever will open the flush valve, and once the water level rises high enough, the intake valve will close. If the flush valve is somehow malfunctioning causing the water to drip out of the water tank, the intake valve will also drip all the time causing water to be wasted constantly. Toilet repair parts are easy to find at any local hardwared store, and you can even replace all the parts if you aren’t sure what is the problem there. All the parts are easy to change to new ones, as long as you remember to cut the water to the toilet when you repair them.
Another common problem with toilets is a leaking flange. Toilet flange repair parts are also readily available and come with simple instructions on how to change them. If you want to make a perfect and neat flange you are most likely going to have to replace the whole bathroom flooring while you do it – this to make it possible to attach a flange collar that goes under the flooring, leaving a neat seamless flange. But if you just have an unsteady toilet, you might just get away by replacing your flange ring, cleaning it up and reattaching the toilet tightly. The flange can easily break down and cause the toilet to rock. Sometimes you aren’t going to need to replace the whole flange, but using flange repair parts can make it steady once again.
When you are doing your toilet repair yourself, keep in mind that you need to be careful at what you are doing. Follow the instructions because they have been made by professionals. That way you can avoid future problems with your toilet and save time and money.
9-Don’t Call The Plumber Yet ( Toilet flang repair ) from Claude Taylor on Vimeo.